


Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

by petitepanda



Category: Naruto
Genre: Anal Sex, Bad BDSM Etiquette, Bottom Umino Iruka, But Iruka is definitely worse, Codependency, Consensual Sex, Dark Hatake Kakashi, Dark Umino Iruka, Dysfunctional Relationships, Emotional Manipulation, Explicit Sexual Content, Gaslighting, Jealousy, Kakashi and Iruka both suck in this, M/M, Oral Sex, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Overprotectiveness, Overstimulation, POV Hatake Kakashi, POV Third Person Limited, Possessive Behavior, Spanking, Stalking, Unhealthy Relationships, Verbal Humiliation, Wordcount: Over 10.000, kinda? IDK if it necessarily counts as BDSM, light Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:47:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27690908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petitepanda/pseuds/petitepanda
Summary: "Rumor has it that Iruka had a type."After Iruka breaks things off with another horrible boyfriend, Kakashi takes advantage of this opportunity to finally secure Iruka as his.Kakashi finds out that he might've bitten off more than he can chew.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Comments: 18
Kudos: 135





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Venenum](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15924491) by [MyThoughtBubbles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyThoughtBubbles/pseuds/MyThoughtBubbles). 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was inspired to write this after I read MyThoughtBubbles' _Venenum_ and _Cruel Intentions_. I highly recommend you go read those fics. They both star a dark and possessive Kakashi.
> 
> In a chapter of _Venenum_ , the author wondered how things would be different if Iruka were the stalker. I thought this was an interesting idea and wanted to explore it a little bit. This story kinda deviates from that idea, but don't worry. There's still plenty of fucked-up Iruka in this to go around. 
> 
> Please enjoy. 
> 
> Unbeta'd.

Rumor has it that Iruka had a type. 

Apparently all it took was pale hair and a propensity for being a bastard. As far as anyone could tell, the trend began with Mizuki, the traitor that embedded a Fuma shuriken into the academy teacher’s back. From there, Iruka’s mistakes had been named Seiji, Hachirou, Iwao...The list was almost endless. 

It was a fucked up game of sorts for Kakashi to occasionally get together with some of the other jonin at the bar and listen to the gossip surrounding the chunin sensei. The other shinobi would place bets on how long the chunin’s relationship would last and who would be the one to break it off.

Kakashi wasn’t a psych-nin, but if he had to hazard a guess as to why Iruka kept ending up with these less-than gentleman, he’d bet his money on self-worth issues. From what he’d gather on the sensei from the village gossip, Iruka used to be quite the trouble maker when he was a genin. He played pranks, acting as the class clown to garner the attention he hadn’t received as an orphan. Although he had outgrown those childish ways, it was clear the academy teacher still craved attention in certain capacities. And certain types of men were drawn to that. 

What kind of man did that make Kakashi then? 

Kakashi had admitted to himself quite a while ago that he was attracted to Iruka. Something about that dark brown skin with matching hair and doe eyes drew him in. He loved watching him redden when flustered, angry, and — although Kakashi hadn’t tested this personally — probably when he was aroused. 

Despite Iruka’s tendency to yell, he exuded a warm and caring energy. It was rare to see such an expressive ninja. Kakashi had been on his own for a long time and it took him nearly his entire life to realize he longed for — and deserved — love and attention. He was sure he could find that in Iruka. 

If Iruka could love and accept the host of the monster that killed his parents, he could probably learn to love someone like Kakashi as well.

According to the most recent gossip supplied by Izumo and Kotetsu, Iruka had just broken off things with his boyfriend. As bad as he felt to think it (which wasn’t really all that bad), Kakashi had been waiting for this moment to come and swoop Iruka up. He had waited close to three months for this chance, which seemed to be a personal record for the chunin. It was a good thing Kakashi was used to exhibiting this sort of patience while on missions.

* * *

Already having memorized Iruka’s Mission Desk schedule from when he regularly tormented him with bad reports, Kakashi waited around until the end of Iruka’s shift. Iruka thanked the last shinobi for his hard work and finished up some paperwork before throwing his satchel around his shoulder and beginning the journey home. Seemingly thinking he was alone, Iruka’s polite smile slipped off his face and a weary sadness overtook it. 

Kakashi stepped out from the shadows and allowed Iruka to spot him. His visible eye closed as he smiled. “Yo, sensei. Where are you headed this late?” 

Iruka startled badly and tripped over his own feet. He quickly picked himself up from the ground and brushed off invisible dirt from his lap. “S-sorry, Hatake-san! My mind was somewhere else. Did you need something?”

Kakashi watched the chunin fidget nervously, noting how he tried and failed to paste a smile back onto his face. “Maa, I was just walking this way and thought you looked like you could use an ear,” he said casually. That appeared to open the floodgates and Iruka brought a hand up to scrub away the tears. He was suddenly reminded of when he had last talked to a distressed Iruka on a bench all those years ago.

Iruka took a few breaths to compose himself before he offered Kakashi a bitter smile. “I’m sure the whole village knows this by now, but I just broke up with my hundredth boyfriend. While I appreciate the concern, Hatake-san, this isn’t the first time this has happened, and it probably won’t be the last.” His smile dropped and he looked down somewhere near Kakashi’s feet. “I don’t know why this keeps happening. At first I thought I just had bad luck, but I’m not so arrogant as to dismiss the idea that I’m the problem. Now that I think about it, the only common thread among all of this seems to be me...”

Kakashi watched Iruka bow his head and turn to leave. “I’ve taken up enough of your time. I need to head h—.” Kakashi cut him off by placing a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re about to leave in the middle of our conversation? I never expected an academy sensei to be so rude,” Kakashi teased lightly. 

“H-Hat—.”

“Kakashi.” The jonin corrected.

“Kakashi-san then. You—”

“I’m the one that asked, right? And I happen to think you’re wrong. I think you’re one of the most caring and hardworking people in this village. I wouldn’t let any washed up jonin make you think otherwise.”

Iruka shook his head and asked quietly, “how can you possibly know that? We’ve talked maybe three times before, not counting the times you’ve handed in your mission reports.”

“Naruto talks about you all the time. And even if he didn’t, the whole village respects you, sensei.”

Iruka turned his body to face Kakashi, tear-filled eyes staring meaningfully into his single eye. He was quiet for a long moment. Then, “if I can’t call you Hatake-san, you can’t call me sensei.” He said almost petulantly. “Call me Iruka.”

Kakashi huffed in amusement. “Of course, Iruka.” He removed his hand from the younger man’s shoulder and placed it in his own pocket. “Let’s get you home, hm? I have to walk this way anyway.” He could tell Iruka knew he was bluffing, but he didn’t object as he began leading the jonin. 

They chatted as they walked in the direction of Iruka’s apartment. Well, Iruka was the main culprit filling the silence. The man had a skill for making every little thing sound interesting without delving into inane small talk. Kakashi half-listened, too busy feeling a mixture of smugness and giddiness. He had been hoping Iruka’s emotional vulnerability would provide him with an opportunity, but he hadn’t expected it to go this well. Every time he caught the teacher's eyes, Iruka blushed, averted his eyes, and momentarily fumbled his words.

“A-anyway, as I was saying, he realized I was right and sent her to get another one. She— Oh. We’re here.” Iruka interrupted himself, realizing that they were standing in front of his apartment complex. Kakashi waited patiently as he paused to gather his thoughts. 

“Kakashi-san, don’t think that you’re sly. I knew what you were doing. But thank you. I was having a horrible day and you somehow managed to make it not as bad.”

“Maa, it was no problem. Always happy to help a fellow shinobi in need.”

Iruka blushed before he pecked Kakashi over his mask — presumably in gratitude — and quickly disappeared into his living quarters. 

Kakashi travelled across town to his own apartment, happily whistling to himself.

* * *

Kakashi had fully intended on ~~coercing~~ wooing Iruka some more when he stopped by his classroom on his lunch break the next day. Now that the foundation had been set, Kakashi reasoned, it wouldn’t be long until Iruka was his. 

After the last mini-human exited the classroom, Kakashi climbed in through the window, keeping his eyes on the chunin’s back as he erased the chalkboard.

“I thought I told you two to stop trying to sneak in here during lunch!” Iruka spun around and threw the chalkboard eraser, which Kakashi easily dodged. “Kakashi-san?! What are you doing here?”

Kakashi reached down and grabbed the eraser, holding it out to the teacher as a peace offering. “Maa, I got lost on the path of life and somehow ended up here. You know how it is.”

“Oh really?” Iruka questioned, sounding unimpressed. Nonetheless, he took the eraser back and placed it on the board. Iruka then surprised him by turning back around and pulling him into a clothed kiss. 

Kakashi had to stop himself from looking disappointed. Two kisses now and he still didn’t know how Iruka’s lips felt. He regretted ever having started wearing his mask. 

“Thanks again for last night,” Iruka started as he rubbed his facial scar nervously. “Sorry I’m such a mess. That really isn’t how I wanted you to find out about my feelings.” He sighed and crossed his arms, leaving chalk fingerprints on the sleeves of his standard uniform shirt. “Do you wanna get Ichiraku some time?” 

Kakashi couldn’t help but smile at the chunin’s awkwardness. He was downright adorable. “Sure, Iruka. I’m not doing anything this evening.”

They met up at Ichiraku and ate as they talked about Naruto, Iruka’s academy students, and a few stories from Kakashi’s declassified missions. As an introvert, Kakashi was surprised at how easy it was to talk to Iruka. Normally, the copy-nin tried to keep human interaction to a minimum, but something about Iruka’s passionate way of speaking kept him engaged. 

Kakashi was glad he had decided to approach Iruka the night before. Had it been a little manipulative? Yes, but this was no different from how he planned and carried out any other mission. 

And it had paid off. All of the animosity created at the chunin exam nominations was completely gone. 

Kakashi learned many things about Iruka that evening. First, the sensei was incredibly polite and looked away every time the jonin pulled down his mask to eat. Next, Iruka loved kids. He had a million stories to tell about each of his students and smiled fondly even when talking about the pranks and accidents he had suffered at the hands of those brats. The chunin ate ramen at nearly the same pace as Naruto, and speaking of Naruto, Kakashi could tell he loved the boy like a younger brother. 

One question that went unanswered was why Iruka dated such horrible men. He was really curious as to why a seemingly intelligent, self-aware, and competent adult would fall for the same thing every time. Kakashi supposed that they all had their weird ways of coping. Maybe trash jonin were Iruka’s Icha Icha Paradise. 

The two men finished their meals, and after Kakashi pulled down his mask to properly kiss the sensei, went their separate ways. Kakashi walked home, hands in his pockets and a hidden smile on his lips. 

He suddenly stopped, his instincts alerting him that he was being followed. He almost used his Sharingan when he felt the presence dart away. Good. Maybe it had been a fan that wisely decided to stop stalking him. He made a mental note to be a little more vigilant from now on. One could never be too careful in a world filled with ninja, even in one's own village.

Kakashi refused to let that ruin his good mood and hummed as he deactivated his wards, lips still pleasantly tingling from the kiss.

Iruka was perfect and he was a fool for not realizing it sooner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC. 
> 
> The next chapter is written and just waiting to be edited, so it shouldn't be too long until it's up.
> 
> Have a great day and stay safe, everyone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Please mind the tags.**
> 
> I’ve added a few trigger warnings in the end notes. They aren’t too explicit, but I still wanted to include them.
> 
> This fic was originally supposed to have only two parts, but after some more thought, I decided I didn’t want their relationship dynamic to develop too suddenly. We can’t have Kakashi catching on to what’s happening _too_ quickly, now can we?
> 
> Please enjoy.

The next two weeks were like a chapter out of an Icha Icha novel. 

Kakashi and Iruka established a routine of sorts; Kakashi would meet the chunin on the way to work and walk him the rest of the way to the academy. They’d share a kiss before Kakashi left to attend to his own business for the day. When Kakashi’s missions only lasted a few hours, he joined Iruka afterwards for dinner. 

If he were being honest, Kakashi was getting a little sick of eating ramen. It wasn’t his favorite food, and he could feel his body beginning to crave more vegetables. 

After dinner, they would spend a few hours at Kakashi’s home because it was bigger than the chunin’s apartment and Kakashi preferred being on his own turf. It also didn’t hurt that Iruka was nearly irresistible sitting among the rest of his belongings and covered with his scent. Perhaps he spent too much time around his ninken.

Things were going so well that on more than one occasion, Kakashi had considered providing inspiration for Jiraiya’s next work. However, there was one small (major) issue; They hadn’t taken their relationship to the next level yet. And what was Icha Icha without the passionate and frequent lovemaking? 

Kakashi didn’t know how to bring the topic up without scaring Iruka off. While the sensei had no qualms about expressing affection, Kakashi had a feeling that he was a bit of a prude when it came to actual sex. They’d exchange slow and deep kisses, Iruka’s quiet whimpers sending his blood south. He’d progress things by ending the kiss to leave lovebites on the teacher’s neck. 

Abruptly, Iruka would push him away, mumble something about leftover paperwork or grading, and rush out of his apartment. What a tease.

Iruka would just have to get over whatever was holding him back, Kakashi decided. It wasn’t fair that the younger man most likely put out for all of his other boyfriends, yet wouldn’t extend him the same courtesy.

Kakashi thought very highly of their relationship. Even so, he was hardly ignorant of the fact that their relationship wasn’t without its faults. Sometimes Kakashi’s introverted and apathetic nature emerged to ruin things. Other times, it was Iruka’s insecure and temperamental tendencies that caused issues. 

However, Iruka’s love seemed to be unconditional despite the jonin’s missteps. As for Kakashi, he assumed that the other’s flaws were simply a consequence of his past relationships. It was only natural for Iruka to cling to him during his emotional recovery.

* * *

Kakashi read while he waited for Iruka to finish up work for the night. When he felt the other’s presence move towards him, he looked up and was pleased to find a smile on his face.

“Hey, I hope you weren’t waiting too long. I know I finished up a little later than usual,” Iruka said as they travelled to Ichiraku. “I think you’re rubbing off on me.”

“Maa, not yet.” Kakashi replied casually.

Iruka looked confused, then he flushed and hit him on the arm. “You know what I mean! Those books have really started to rot your brain.”

“You always say that.”

“Because it’s true. You’re somehow worse than my prepubescent students.” 

Growing bored of the conversation, Kakashi bluntly changed the subject. “What kept you so late tonight?”

“Oh! Um, there was...an incident.” Iruka scratched his nose, embarrassed.

“An incident.” Kakashi was amused. Usually that meant some poor shinobi had been on the wrong end of one of Iruka’s red-faced rants.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Iruka confirmed with a huff. “One of my exes thought it was a great idea to crash my shift.” He rubbed at the bridge of his nose as if fighting off a headache. “It was so embarrassing!” 

Kakashi began to feel the sparks of jealousy until Iruka continued, “I wanted to yell at him for holding up the line, but he took out an explosive tag and threatened to kill himself if I didn’t take him back! Thankfully an ANBU got to him in time, but by then, he had put me an hour behind schedule.” Iruka let out a weary sigh, but he seemed more preoccupied by the increased workload than by his ex-boyfriend’s actions.

Good. It didn’t sound as if that dramatic display had distracted the academy teacher from Kakashi. What a weak man that must have been, Kakashi internally scoffed. The jonin didn’t feel threatened by that man in any way. Still, he wouldn’t be one of the most skilled shinobi in the village if he wasn’t thorough with every opponent.

“Which ex was this?” He asked in a bored tone, though Iruka immediately saw through his façade.

“Don’t beat a man while he’s down, Kakashi,” Iruka playfully scolded as he tugged one of Kakashi’s hands from his pocket and intertwined their fingers. “I’m sure he’s locked up somewhere in the psych ward right now, so you don’t have to worry about him. Now, why don’t you decide what you’re gonna get from Ichiraku this time? They have more than just Shoyu ramen, you know.”

Kakashi accepted the diversion with an affirmative hum. He had no problem letting Iruka believe that he was manipulating him; It was harmless and quite cute to watch him try.

“Maa, but what if I don’t like it? I’ll just get the same thing I always get and taste some of yours.”

“Hey!” He chuckled at the teacher’s outraged response. He and Naruto were too alike sometimes.

* * *

The weekend arrived and the two walked aimlessly through the village, occasionally popping into shops to buy things. Iruka purchased some red pens for grading and a box of stickers.

Kakashi was unimpressed when he saw the stickers. “You coddle your students too much. None of my teachers ever gave me stickers when I was in the academy.”

Iruka clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Well, that explains a lot.” 

Kakashi felt a pang of self-consciousness. What exactly did the chunin mean by that? He knew that he wasn’t the most well-adjusted adult, but he tried extremely hard to hide that from others. Comments like those made him worry that Iruka would eventually figure him out, and that would ruin everything.

“Anyone who scores above 90% on their tests gets a sticker. That’s one of the classroom rules, and I won’t change it halfway through the school year just because you think it’s ridiculous.” Iruka’s hands were on his hips and his ponytail bobbed with his words. Usually he’d be charmed by this image, but he was still trying to process the chunin’s earlier words. 

He remained mostly silent as they finished their shopping. Iruka bought groceries with a promise of fixing them a home cooked meal when they returned to Kakashi’s place. Kakashi didn’t know how he felt about eating Iruka’s cooking; The younger man seemed to live off of ramen and hadn’t cooked once the entire time they'd been seeing each other. Then again, if the food turned out inedible, he could always sneak it to his ninken when the other wasn’t looking.

They stopped at the last shop. The saleswoman smiled and handed Kakashi his item. “Thank you for your purchase! Enjoy the rest of your day, Hatake-san and Umino-sensei.” 

The trip to Kakashi’s home was tense. Kakashi still felt shaken up, and Iruka was angry about...something. Iruka’s grip on his arm progressively tightened until Kakashi was sure he could feel bruises forming on his pale skin.

“Iruka.” Kakashi murmured, half-lidded eye on the sensei curiously. 

Iruka’s grip only grew tighter.

Soon they reached Kakashi’s apartment and he watched as the other man aggressively put things away and began cooking. He angrily chopped up the vegetables, cursing under his breath when he accidentally nicked himself. 

Confused and not willing to address the chunin’s bad mood at the moment, Kakashi exited the kitchen to shower. He had no idea what had set him off. He had seemed content up until they left the shopping district. 

Kakashi’s shoulders slumped as he rinsed the shampoo from his hair. Maybe he wasn’t as good at this dating thing as he thought. Well, one thing was for sure; He wasn’t getting laid tonight.

The copy-nin reluctantly rejoined Iruka in the kitchen, who was stirring something in a pot. He sat down at the table and just watched him work for a few minutes before he spoke up. “Iru—.”

“Sh.” Iruka sprinkled seasoning into the pot and continued to stir.

Kakashi frowned at being dismissed. “What’s wro—.”

“I said shut up! God, haven’t you done enough today?!” The chunin sounded a second away from becoming hysterical. “You’re so insensitive sometimes, you know that?” He let out a bitter laugh. “I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything less from the cold-blooded friend killer!”

Kakashi resisted the urge to flinch, feeling as though the words had punched him in the face. The hurt was quickly walled off and replaced by anger as he stood up from the table. “Don’t fucking throw that in my face! I haven’t done anything to you! What the hell is your problem?!” 

That snapped Iruka out of his weird mood and his eyes welled up with tears. “I’m so sorry, Kakashi! I-I shouldn’t have said any of that. I’ve had such a terrible week. I got y-yelled at by four parents, and every shinobi in the village suddenly forgot how to write a mission report. I know that doesn’t excuse what I’ve said, but you have to know I didn’t m-mean any of it!” He looked so regretful and pathetic that Kakashi had no choice but to forgive him. 

He reminded himself that while Iruka was a chunin in the technical sense, he rarely took missions and wasn’t used to handling a lot of stress at once like an active-duty ninja. That didn’t make the sting of Iruka’s words disappear completely, but it provided some useful context.

Kakashi approached the sniffling chunin and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him against his chest. He even cried ugly like Naruto. It shouldn’t have been endearing on a grown man, but Kakashi couldn’t resist catching those trembling lips in a kiss.

“I forgive you, Iruka. You’re going through a lot right now. Any other academy sensei in your position wouldn’t have held it together as long as you did.”

Iruka pressed his cheek against Kakashi’s chest. Kakashi felt him shake his head. “That doesn’t make it OK. I know those words hurt you even if you pretend that they don’t. I should’ve just talked to you instead of saying those horrible things.”

“Hm.” Kakashi removed Iruka’s hair tie and began combing his fingers through his hair. “Can I ask what I did to upset you?”

“The entire time we were out today, people kept... _looking_ at you. We’re obviously together, yet so many people flirted with you anyway. It was so humiliating and I felt like you just let it happen.”

Kakashi hadn’t noticed any flirting, but it happened so often that he had learned to tune that kind of attention out a long time ago. He could understand why that would agitate the younger man though. If someone blatantly flirted with Iruka in front of him, there was no telling what the fate of that person would be.

“I’m sorry,” Kakashi mumbled. Iruka’s watery brown eyes were so beautiful and vulnerable that Kakashi shifted his arm further down around his waist and pulled their hips together. 

Iruka gasped at the friction and wriggled out from his grasp. “The food! It’ll burn.” He busied himself with turning off the stove, fixing two bowls, and placing them down on the table.

They both sat down at the table. Iruka didn’t touch his food, looking at Kakashi expectantly. “Let me know how it tastes. I’m not the best cook, but I know how to make a few dishes here and there.”

Kakashi caught sight of the bruises on his arm from Iruka’s strong grip earlier, and for a brief moment, he worried that Iruka had poisoned the food while he was showering. But that was ridiculous, Kakashi reasoned. He noted the chunin’s sweet smile in response to him spooning food into his mouth. He chewed the vegetables and meat thoroughly before swallowing.

It was delicious.

* * *

Still feeling off-kilter from the night before, Kakashi decided to skip out on their usual dinner plans. If Iruka was upset, he could always claim that his mission ran longer than expected, or better yet, that he had felt unwell. The younger man’s empathy always seemed to outweigh his anger. And as long as Iruka apologized first, Kakashi would consider the situation a win in his favor.

Kakashi went out for drinks with a few of his fellow jonin. He answered a few questions about his and Iruka’s relationship, but mostly just listened to the current gossip as he sipped his beer. 

A few hours later, he returned home not nearly as drunk as he pretended to be; People tended to be a lot more interesting when they thought he wouldn’t remember the next day. Balance impaired due to his buzz, he slowly removed his sandals in the genkan. 

He blamed his slight inebriation for not immediately sensing the additional presence in his home. Someone stood silhouetted in his living room. He was instantly on the person with a kunai pressed to their throat before he realized who the invader was.

“Iruka?” He slipped the weapon away and turned on the lights. “What are you doing here?” 

Iruka normally would have gone home at this hour, so why was he here? Moreover, why was he in Kakashi's home without him and with the lights off?

Iruka relaxed from his defensive position. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I heard that you returned from your mission earlier. I got worried when you weren’t waiting for me after work.”

He didn’t sound angry, so Kakashi didn’t immediately feel the need to ~~lie~~ stretch the truth. “I was out with some coworkers,” he said as he entered the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water.

Iruka’s face poorly hid his hurt and jealousy. “I see.” 

Kakashi rolled his eyes and pulled off his mask to take a few sips of water. “No need to be jealous. Trust me, you’re the only one I want to kiss.”

“Just kiss?” 

Kakashi nearly choked on his water in shock. He observed the teacher more closely to make sure he wasn’t reading the situation incorrectly, but no. The smile on Iruka’s face couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than coquettish. He hadn’t breached this subject quite yet as he assumed Iruka wasn’t ready. Clearly Iruka wasn’t entirely what he had expected. 

Kakashi quickly placed his glass in the sink and backed the chunin into a wall. “I was wondering how long you were going to tease me for. I thought I was just gonna hold you down at some point. This is a lot easier though.”

Instead of answering, Iruka sank to his knees and placed a hand on Kakashi’s waistband. “I still need to make it up to you for what I said yesterday,” he explained.

Kakashi wasn’t about to argue with that. He watched with both eyes as the younger man pulled his hardening cock from his trousers and underwear. “I’m probably larger than most of your exes, so don’t worry about fitting it all in on the first try,” he said. The tomoe of his sharingan spun in interest when Iruka licked his lips and determinedly grabbed the base of his erection, engulfing him in wet heat.

With a groan, Kakashi accidentally thrusted further into Iruka’s mouth, causing him to gag. “Shit, sorry,” he grunted, and pulled back. 

Kakashi nearly whined when Iruka pulled off of his cock completely. The teacher guided one of the jonin’s hands to his ponytail and said, “you’re OK, Kakashi. I was just unprepared.” He licked a stripe up the engorged flesh and ended with a kiss to the head. “Please use me if you’d like.” 

Before Kakashi could respond, he was taken back inside of that mouth. His hips jerked forward again, yet this time Iruka didn’t gag. Feeling emboldened by this, Kakashi tightened his grip on his ponytail and gradually increased his thrusts until he was fucking the other’s throat. He breathed heavily and moaned, using his sharingan to record the image of his cock repeatedly disappearing into the younger man’s mouth. He was almost embarrassed to admit that he was already close; He attributed it to being teased for weeks.

Iruka struggled to breathe out of his nose during the onslaught, eyes squeezed shut and face reddened. The wet spot at the front of the chunin’s pants steadily grew larger as his hips gyrated and ground against the fabric. His hips moved faster and faster until he let out loud muffled moans and came in his pants. The visual of the chunin reaching his peak and the vibrations created by his moans were too much for Kakashi.

Iruka tried to pull back, but Kakashi held his head in place and came deep in his throat. When the spasming around his cock became too much, he released his ponytail and allowed him to pull away. Iruka gagged and coughed. The jonin’s release escaped out of his nose and mouth to land onto the floor. He eventually expelled all of the fluid and used his sleeve to wipe at his face, his other hand kneading his own spent manhood through his pants. 

“Mm, fuck. What a mess.” Iruka finally said. Kakashi was pleased to hear how hoarse his voice sounded.

Kakashi assisted him in standing up, then kissed him deeply to taste himself on the other’s tongue. He broke away only after their lungs began to protest.

“You can stay here tonight and clean up,” he said, his voice still husky. He wouldn’t make the sensei travel home covered in both of their releases and looking ravished; No one had the right to see Iruka like this except for him. They quickly showered and dressed in Kakashi’s clothing before climbing into bed. 

Maybe he’d try to piss Iruka off more often, Kakashi thought smugly, if this was what it got him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~The most unrealistic thing in this by far is having Iruka make soup in the time that it takes Kakashi to shower~~
> 
> Stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion.
> 
> * * *
> 
> TW: Suicidal ideation. An ex of Iruka’s threatens to blow himself up, but is stopped by an ANBU.
> 
> TW: Physical abuse. Out of jealousy, Iruka grabs Kakashi’s arm so tightly that it leaves bruises. 
> 
> TW: Sexual assault reference. Iruka propositions Kakashi. Kakashi makes a comment that if Iruka had continued to ‘tease’ him, he might have eventually forced him. Please note that while the sexual acts in this fic aren’t the most healthy, they’re all consensual.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Please mind the tags.** I have updated them.
> 
> Sorry for the long wait, guys. After finals season, I really didn’t have the mental energy to write for a while. Also, you’d think writing smut would be easier to write than the other parts, but surprisingly it takes twice as long.
> 
> Thank you to everyone that has left kudos, comments, and bookmarks! They really helped me regain the motivation to finish this final chapter :)
> 
> Again, trigger warnings are in the end note. 
> 
> Please enjoy.

The next few months seemed to fly by. 

Iruka was often busy with his coworkers creating a final exam for his pre-genin. Meanwhile, Kakashi took on many missions outside of the village eliminating threats and gathering intel. When he wasn’t away on missions, he spent all of his time with Iruka.

The old him would’ve been appalled at this much human interaction. However, the new him appreciated coming home from a mission and being able to unload. Iruka always asked how his day had been, what he’d done, and who he’d been around. If he was a few days or even a few hours late returning home from a mission, Iruka became extremely upset and demanded to know as many details as Kakashi was allowed to tell him. 

Iruka was overprotective, but in a cute and flattering kind of way. 

He almost felt bad for burdening Iruka with all of this information, but the younger man seemed genuinely interested. Besides, isn’t this what people had been trying to get him to do with therapists for years?

It warmed Kakashi’s heart to have someone that cared for him as deeply as Iruka did. The chunin gave him a reason to return from his missions (mostly) intact.

* * *

Kakashi returned home from a mission, exhausted and covered with several annoying but non-life threatening wounds. 

Iruka was instantly on his case, rebandaging his field dressings and fussing about how he should’ve gone to the hospital. He switched topics at some point and began berating him about the chores he hadn’t completed before he left two weeks ago for his mission.

Kakashi mostly tuned him out, watching passively as the other man tended to his wounds. He was a little annoyed by the immediate nagging, but he loved watching Iruka be so passionate. He’d learned pretty early on in their relationship that Iruka only yelled because he cared.

He heard Iruka abruptly cut himself off and let out a huff of annoyance. “You’re not listening, are you?” 

Kakashi playfully rolled his eyes and yanked Iruka into his lap, causing the other man to yelp in surprise and drop the supplies he had been holding. “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again, I’ll do it next time, yadda yadda yadda. I got it, sensei.”

Iruka looked as if he were going to start yelling again, but stopped himself. “Oh, alright. I suppose I’ve made my point,” Iruka sighed. “I’m glad you’re home. Even if you drive me crazy.” His exasperated expression morphed into a smile. He pulled Kakashi’s mask down and met his lips in a kiss.

Kakashi deepened the kiss and wrapped his arms around his waist, grinding him down against his erection. One other thing he loved about coming home to Iruka was the welcome-home sex.

Iruka pulled away from the kiss. “How do you even have enough energy, let alone enough blood left for this?” He asked incredulously. 

“One of my many talents,” Kakashi quipped. He rolled his hips upwards, rubbing himself against Iruka’s hardening cock. They continued to rock back and forth together, and Kakashi was fully prepared to cum like this — the delicious friction between their bodies, the sight of Iruka’s flushed face, and the sound of his sweet moans filling the room.

“Kakashi, please,” Iruka moaned, clutching at the other man’s shoulders.

“Please what?” He nibbled at his earlobe and moved down to his neck to leave love bites.

Iruka seemed to change in his mind as his face burned brighter and he buried his face in Kakashi’s neck. The wet breaths against his neck caused Kakashi to shiver. Why did everything this man did have such a huge effect on him?

“Mm, tell me what you want,” Kakashi said huskily. As an encouragement, he pulled out Iruka’s cock and began stroking it languidly. He felt the other suck in a quick breath and place his hand over Kakashi’s.

“I-I want…” Iruka tensed as Kakashi increased the speed of his strokes. “I want you to call me names.”

Kakashi paused in his movements, slightly taken aback. He hadn’t been expecting that, but he couldn’t say he was surprised. Throughout their relationship, he had picked up hints that Iruka liked things a little less vanilla than would be expected of an academy teacher.

“What kind of names?” He couldn’t help but tease the other. 

“Come on, you’re the genius.” Iruka muttered, embarrassed. They sat in silence while Kakashi processed the request and Iruka regretted having brought it up. “Or we can just pretend I didn’t sa—AH!”

Kakashi suddenly began stroking Iruka again. “I see. You want me to tell you how much of a slut I think you are, is that it?”

Iruka didn’t respond, breathing getting faster.

Kakashi continued, “You were such a tease when we started dating. Leading me on and then pretending as if you were some sweet, innocent virgin. But you couldn’t pretend for long, could you?”

“Kakashi, what—.”

“You couldn’t help getting on your knees and sucking me off like you were born for it.”

“N-no, that’s not—.”

“That’s when I realized how much of a whore you really are. You slept with other people while I was gone, didn’t you?” He set a punishing tempo, producing lewd slick noises.

“No, of course not! Nn, I would never do that — Oh, fuck, I’m close.”

Kakashi clamped a hand around the base of Iruka’s erection, causing the man to whine and move around in his lap. “Not until you admit you’re a slut and not the prude little school teacher you pretend to be.”

“W-what?” Iruka asked, dazed and frustrated by his suspended release.

“Say you’re a slut,” he clarified.

Iruka’s face burned red. “I didn’t ask for all of this!”

“Say it,” he repeated calmly.

“Ka—.” Kakashi began alternating between gliding his hand over his erection and squeezing firmly at the base.

“Say it.”

Tears formed in the corners of Iruka’s eyes. “I’m a s-slut!” He relented. “Please, Kakashi!” 

Kakashi took out his own erection and stroked them together. Iruka came almost immediately, yet Kakashi continued to chase his own release. Iruka squirmed at the overstimulation of his softening cock.

Kakashi eventually reached his own peak, adding to the mess on their clothes. 

What a welcome home, Kakashi thought. 

They moved to the bedroom, where they changed into pajamas. Iruka had essentially moved into his apartment as he rarely spent time at his own place.

Now that it was over, Kakashi felt guilty; Many of the rumors claimed that Iruka’s previous boyfriends were notorious for calling him names and generally being assholes. Kakashi had known that. Still, it hadn’t made it any less arousing to say those types of things and watch him squirm.

”You know I didn’t mean any of that, right? I would never hurt you like any of your exes.” Kakashi said once they had laid down together. 

“I know, Kakashi,” Iruka purred, snuggling closer to the older man. “That’s why you’re perfect.”

* * *

It was funny how quickly people changed.

Kakashi used to only have the thrill of missions to look forward to. Now while he was away, all he could think about was if Iruka was safe within Konoha’s gates. He wouldn’t be surprised if his enemies knew of Iruka’s existence and relation to him already.

As a fellow shinobi, Iruka knew it was Kakashi’s duty to protect the village. Nonetheless, that didn’t stop him from looking disappointed and worried every time he told him he had to leave.

“I always make it back,” he tried to reassure him. “And no one inside or outside of these gates is good enough to make me unfaithful.” 

“I know that you’d never cheat on me,” Iruka said as if he didn’t constantly get jealous when Kakashi interacted with another person. 

Kakashi hummed in agreement, moving closer to Iruka and embracing him in his arms. He was so warm. 

He _really_ didn’t want to leave.

Iruka smirked and kissed Kakashi right below the lips where his beauty mark was. “We both know I’d kill us both if you ever left me. So it wouldn’t make a difference if you survived the enemy or not.” 

Kakashi huffed in amusement. “Must you always be so dramatic, sensei?”

“Have you met me?” he responded playfully. Then his expression sobered into something more muted. “May the soles of your feet be firm,” he parroted, and gave Kakashi one last kiss before he left. 

Weeks later, he returned to the village. He was uninjured, yet his body was tired and his heart yearned for Iruka.

As soon as he entered the gates, he was apprehended by an ANBU and instructed to meet with the Hokage. He normally would have ignored the message, but he really wasn’t in the mood for another ANBU to appear in his window, even if it happened to be his adorable kohai. All he wanted to do was have Iruka in his arms, pass out for three days straight, and wake up to welcome-home sex. In that exact order.

He went to the Hokage’s office, and after knocking on the door, was told to enter.

Lady Tsunade looked up from her desk with a mildly surprised expression. “You actually came the first time you were called,” she mused. “It appears that boyfriend of yours can work miracles after all.”

Kakashi wasn’t in the mood for small talk; He just wanted to get home to his said boyfriend. “Maa, I was told you had something important to tell me?”

“Yes, right to the chase. You’re being audited. It has been brought to my attention that you may be unfit for longer missions outside of the village.” She smirked, apparently finding something about the situation amusing.

Kakashi felt embarrassed and annoyed, but unsurprised. This wasn’t the first time his abilities in the field had been questioned. Either some person thought they were being a good Samaritan, or they were a resentful shinobi trying to get back at him for something. 

He may have had...issues when he was in ANBU — still, that didn’t give people the right to constantly doubt his capabilities. He had solved many of his problems years ago, and had gotten pretty adept at hiding the rest of them. 

Tsunade resumed, “Of course you’ll need to get a psych and physical eval. You know the drill. As long as you pass both, you won’t be suspended from active duty.” 

Kakashi mentally sent an apology to Iruka and his bed. It seemed he would be getting home a little later than promised.

He easily passed the physical exam and briefly considered skipping the psych evaluation. That part always made him feel like a lab rat being mentally prodded with something sharp to see how he responded.

The man conducting the eval had to be new, Kakashi noted. He had never been questioned by him before. 

After a few questions, the man paused and titled his head at Kakashi curiously. “You don’t feel emotions like a normal person, do you, Hatake-san?”

Kakashi shrugged from his slouched position in the chair. “I feel plenty.” If the man was referring to civilians, it was an unfair comparison; Shinobi were taught from a young age to guard themselves and hide their real emotions.

The man took a moment to study Kakashi, then spoke up again. “One last question — What would you do if a teammate were to be injured and aiding him put your own life in danger?”

Kakashi responded to this question the exact same way he always did. He answered by vaguely referring to Obito's words about scum, purposely leaving out any mention of his father.

“Is that the only reason you would help a teammate? To uphold your friend’s philosophy?”

Kakashi pulled out his book to convey that he was finished with this conversation. “Are you done poking around my brain?” He asked idly. “If I don’t get back soon, I have someone waiting at home that will become quite angry with me.”

The man seemed to completely ignore his question and answered with an inquiry of his own. “Does this person usually get upset when you’re out of their sight for long periods of time?”

Kakashi felt his mild annoyance progress to anger. It was one thing to try to psychoanalyze him, but he refused to let his sweet Iruka be dragged into things. He shut his book with an audible _thump_ and stood up from his chair. “I think we’re done here,” he said coolly.

“Of course. I've asked all of my questions.” The man stamped and scribbled his initials onto a piece of paper, which he handed over to Kakashi. “Please give to Lady Hokage-sama this form showing that you have passed both parts of the evaluation.”

Kakashi stopped by Tsunade’s office to hand it in. He really just wanted to go home, but he couldn’t help questioning, “Can I ask who submitted the complaint?”

Tsunade rolled her eyes. “You always do, brat. But you know the identities of reporters are protected. That would negate the purpose of the non-retaliation policy, wouldn’t it? Now try to take better care of yourself so I don’t have more people reporting you.”

“Right.” Kakashi bowed, then turned to leave.

“Oh, and Kakashi?”

“Mm?”

“Don’t let me find you sneaking into the files archive. T&I is already busy enough without you there.”

“Maa, does that sound like something I’d do?”

Tsunade rolled her eyes and turned back to the mountain of paperwork on her desk. Kakashi took that as his cue to leave.

Hands in his pocket, Kakashi exited the Hokage’s office and walked down the hallway to the files archive. Tsunade had just said not to get _caught_. He fully intended to follow that command to the best of his ability.

He masked his chakra and snuck into the room to search through the files. When he found what he was looking for, his eyes quickly skimmed the page. The name of the reporter made him pause.

Umino Iruka. 

No wonder Lady Tsunade had actually taken the complaint seriously. Being his lover gave Iruka a lot of credibility. 

Kakashi was hurt that Iruka would do this behind his back and without discussing it with him. More than anything though, he was worried that this was Iruka’s way of telling him that he wasn’t good enough. He knew that Iruka was usually pretty direct with his feelings, but what if this was an attempt to spare his feelings?

Kakashi finally made it home, where he knew Iruka would be waiting for him. 

The smile on ink stained lips that greeted him almost made him forget why he was upset. Almost.

“How did the mission go?” Iruka wondered, eyes scanning his body for injuries.

“I just returned from psych.” 

“O-oh?” Iruka’s smile dropped and he began nibbling at his bottom lip nervously. 

“Someone apparently thought I wasn’t competent enough to complete missions.”

Iruka sighed, crossing his arms and turning his head away. 

The longer they sat in silence, the more Kakashi’s heart dropped. This was it, wasn’t it? This was the moment Iruka broke up with him. 

He was hyperaware of the breath the younger man sucked in before he started speaking.

“I just hate seeing you come back injured and chakra depleted. You don’t have to take this many missions, so I’m not sure why you do it.” Kakashi opened his mouth to speak, but Iruka carried on. “It’s stupid, but sometimes I wonder if you have a death wish. Or maybe you just wanna get away from me that badly.”

“You’re right. It _is_ stupid.” He saw Iruka getting angry and spoke before he could take his words the wrong way. “The truth is I can’t always play domestic boyfriend with you.”

Instead of calming Iruka down, his explanation had the opposite effect on the chunin. Iruka closed his eyes tightly and shook his head as if fighting off Kakashi’s words. “That—you—! I don’t even know where to start with that! I’m sorry I’m just a chunin and forcing you to live such a boring, ‘domestic’ life! Sorry this is below your paygrade!”

Kakashi’s visible eye widened. “Iruka, that’s not what I meant.”

“Then please explain what you meant because I'm a second away from walking out.” 

“I’m not saying I'm unhappy being with you. I love waking up next to you and cooking with you and walking home with you from work. I just meant that sometimes it’s hard to pretend that I’m a person.” Kakashi mussed up his hair as he explained. Why the hell was his heart beating so fast? “Before we were together, I didn't even have any civilian clothing. I’ve been living as a weapon for so long, and sometimes I need to go on a mission to balance myself again for you.”

Kakashi felt so exposed at this moment as if he were revealing every deep seated insecurity. He’d always had a fear that as soon as Iruka realized how broken he was, he would leave him. But this was what couples were supposed to do, right? Talk about their problems together? He preferred talking about Iruka’s issues a lot more.

Iruka's anger deflated and he finally met Kakashi’s eye. “I was trying to protect you, but my own insecurities got in the way,” he admitted sheepishly. “I won’t apologize for trying to help you, but I’m sorry I wasn’t upfront with you about it.”

Iruka stepped closer and cradled Kakashi’s face with a hand. “For what it’s worth, I never expected a househusband and 2.5 kids from you. Don’t forget that I’m a shinobi too.”

Kakashi grabbed his hand and brought it to his clothed lips. He watched as Iruka’s fiery blush lightened into a pleased flush. Iruka was gorgeous the way he always seemed to change colors. “I’m sorry that I’m so fucked up you thought you had to protect me from myself.”

Iruka’s eyes softened. “I’ll take care of you no matter how ‘fucked up’ you are.” He took his hand back and wrinkled his nose. ”Now please go shower. You smell horrible, and I’m sure you want to get started on your _lengthy_ and _detailed_ mission report as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sensei.”

* * *

As expected, Kakashi slept like the dead for 72 hours, only waking up to use the bathroom and eat. He vaguely recalled having half-coherent conversations with Iruka, although he couldn't distinguish what had occurred in reality versus in his dreams.

“You told me that you were going to become a monk and throw away your Icha Icha collection,” Iruka claimed as he brushed out his dark strands. 

The chunin was accompanying Kakashi on a night out with a few other jonin. He had expressed that while he felt awkward going, he didn’t want Kakashi to go alone again. Kakashi easily agreed, unsettled by the thought of going without him. Besides, Kakashi reasoned, Asuma and Kurenai always attended together. It wasn’t like they were being unreasonable.

“Maa, I very much doubt that,” Kakashi drawled, watching the other tend to his hair. Iruka rarely wore his hair down — the sight of it made him want to grab a handful and pull.

“I had to try.” The younger man shrugged. After one last look into the mirror, he deemed them ready to leave.

As soon as they walked into the shinobi bar, whispers and nosey glances were directed their way. Kakashi spotted his table of jonin, and they walked over to join them.

Genma smirked, biting at his senbon, and waved his glass in their direction. “Kakashi! We haven’t seen you in forever. Too busy with the wife, eh?”

Asuma snickered around his unlit cigarette, which caused Kurenai to elbow him. “Not funny,” she admonished. 

Raidou grabbed Genma’s glass and set it down on the table before he could spill it everywhere. “Ignore him, Iruka-sensei. You actually managed to get him here on time. Maybe you can get him to pay his own tab too.”

Iruka laughed nervously at the sudden attention he was receiving. “Ah, I make no promises.” Everyone chuckled.

Kurenai smiled and took a sip of her own drink. “It’s nice to see you outside of work, Iruka-sensei. How are you two? I’ve been rooting for you guys, you know.”

Anko snorted. “What she means is we’re betting on how long you two last, and she bet that you guys’ll get married and adopt 6 of Iruka’s students.”

“You were the one that bet that,” Asuma corrected.

Kakashi could feel one of his many masks slipping into place. He wanted to avoid talking about his relationship as much as possible. “We’re doing fine. Isn’t that right, darling?” He mockingly cooed to Iruka. He tried to pull him into his lap, but the chunin dodged it and prevented further attempts with a hand to the face and a stiff arm. The others watched this display in amusement.

Kakashi stopped and settled on resting an arm across the back of Iruka’s chair. “You’re so mean to me,” he whined.

Iruka looked at him weirdly, probably unused to seeing this side of Kakashi. “And you’re just trying to embarrass me.” He looked at Anko, who was stuffing her face with cake. “I doubt my students’ parents would appreciate us adopting their kids.”

“I meant all the orphan ones. You know, like Naruto.”

They continued to chat, and at some point, Iruka and Kakashi ordered drinks of their own. When Anko playfully flirted with Kakashi, he felt Iruka tense up beside him. He tried to reassure the other with a kiss to the cheek, but he was ignored. 

Goddamnit, Kakashi thought angrily. He was so tired of arguing with Iruka about the same thing over and over again. How many more times would he have to convince him that he would never cheat on him?

Kakashi emerged from his thoughts to hear the tail end of Raidou’s comment. “I just hope they send us somewhere warmer next time,” the scarred man said.

Asuma shook his head and sighed. “Nah, I already checked.” He tapped below his own left eye. “Kakashi, you have any jutsus stored in that thing that’ll help keep us warm?”

“Not unless you wanna set yourself on fire,” Kakashi answered. “Besides...I’m actually going to sit that one out. I think I’m gonna take a break from long-term missions for a while.”

The other jonin were shocked into silence.

“Are you dying?!” Anko blurted out. “That’s the only logical explanation for this.”

Genma studied him, doubtful. “That’s not like you at all. What made you have a change of heart?”

Every pair of eyes at the table looked at him expectantly, even the brown orbs belonging to Iruka. As if Iruka hadn’t asked him to take less missions outside of the village. As if Kakashi hadn’t been walking on eggshells trying to balance both of their numerous insecurities.

Kakashi felt anger bubbling just underneath his skin. Sometimes it was hard to remember who he was before Iruka. And he wasn’t quite sure that was a positive thing.

In the end, Kakashi only shrugged and replied, “I don’t know.” If Iruka was disappointed by his answer, he wouldn’t have known. He turned his head away from the other and kept him in his blind spot for the rest of the evening.

A few hours later, the two of them returned to Kakashi’s home.

Iruka initiated a kiss when they entered, and they soon made their way to the bedroom. Kakashi pushed him away by the shoulders and sat down on the bed. “Strip and lay down across my lap,” he directed.

Iruka must have sensed that he wasn’t in the mood for games, because he began undressing without any back talk. When he was bare, he stood in front of Kakashi, an uncomfortable look on his face as he tried to hide his hardening manhood.

Kakashi felt an interesting mix of arousal and anger. It honestly reminded him of his escapades as an emotionally and sexually constipated youth in the ANBU.

As soon as Iruka positioned himself over Kakashi’s lap, the copy-nin delivered a vicious blow to Iruka’s backside. 

Iruka moaned loudly as the slap resounded around the room, grinding his hard cock into Kakashi’s thigh. Moans eventually turned into whimpers and screams. Hopefully they didn’t attract the attention of any neighbors or patrolling ANBU. 

Kakashi continued his assault, only stopping when he felt Iruka’s body heave as the man sobbed.

“I’m sorry,” Iruka said shakily into a pillow.

Kakashi rubbed his lower back, aware of what he was apologizing for — Iruka’s release cooled on the copy-nin’s thigh. “Shh. I never said you couldn’t cum.” 

Now that his anger was gone, he felt as if he were disconnected from his body, numb and tired. He watched himself open Iruka up with one, two, and three fingers before penetrating his body. It didn’t take long for him to reach his peak with the combination of wet, tight heat around his cock and Iruka’s noises as he slammed into the sore flesh of his ass. Shortly afterwards, the younger man came for the second time that night.

As always, they ended the night by wiping themselves down and settling into bed.

“It feels good to take your anger out on someone else, doesn’t it?” Iruka mumbled drowsily. “I don't mind ‘cause it feels good.”

Kakashi didn’t respond, listening to Iruka’s breathing slow as the man fell asleep. He wasn’t quite sure how long he spent staring into the darkness of the night.

* * *

Kakashi knew he had promised he wouldn’t go on the mission with Asuma and Genma, but he had to get away. He had a lot to think about concerning his relationship, and he couldn’t do that effectively in Iruka’s presence. 

Maybe he could ask Asuma about his and Kurenai’s relationship — just so that he could figure out if he was overreacting. He couldn’t be obvious about his intentions, of course. It would be difficult considering he’d never shown any interest in their relationship before, but he would figure out a way.

His thoughts were interrupted by Iruka yanking away the small bag he had been packing.

“You said you weren’t going!” Iruka yelled, eyes ablaze.

Kakashi reclaimed his bag and slipped it into place on his back. “The plans have changed.”

“You mean you’ve changed them.”

Kakashi sighed and turned to leave. “I’m not having this conversation with you right now. I’ll see you when I get ba —.” He cut himself off when he realized that he could no longer move.

Iruka had trapped him in a barrier seal. 

“Iruka, let me go.”

“You can't leave me!” 

“Iruka, you’re being ridiculous.” He didn’t mean to sound so cold, but he realized it was the only way to get through to Iruka when he was being this emotional. “You’re acting as if I won’t be coming back.” 

“Don’t try to make me look crazy, Kakashi,” Iruka warned. “You broke a promise you made to me, and I’m not supposed to be upset about it?” 

Kakashi stared at the other before he released himself from the barrier with a burst of chakra. Iruka was on him in an instant.

They wrestled, Iruka attempting to subdue him and Kakashi trying to escape without hurting the other too badly. Iruka jumped on his back, tangling their legs and causing Kakashi to fall to the floor. Kakashi flipped over and slammed the other onto the ground. He heard Iruka’s breath leave him, and his hold loosened enough for Kakashi to pull away. They both scrambled to their feet.

Iruka grabbed at him again. Instinctually, Kakashi blocked the movement and countered with a punch that hit the chunin squarely in the face. Iruka cried out loudly and put a hand over his bleeding nose.

Kakashi's eye widened as he realized what he had done. “Shit, Iruka! Are you alright?”

“I probably deserved that.” Iruka laughed bitterly. He poked at his nose and hissed in pain. “Pretty sure it’s not broken.”

Kakashi fetched some tissue and helped Iruka staunch the bleeding. 

“Thanks,” Iruka said, guiltily avoiding eye contact. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes as they waited for Iruka's nose to clot. 

Kakashi sighed. This was as good a time as any to have this conversation. “We’re not good for each other, Iruka.” 

Iruka looked at him with pleading eyes. “W-what do you mean?” 

“Look at you. You’re bleeding because of me.” 

Iruka’s eyes softened. “It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have provoked you like that.” 

Kakashi had expected Iruka to start making excuses, but he’d still hoped that he wouldn’t. “I don’t mean just that. We argue all the time.”

“Couples fight, Kakashi. And we usually apologize and talk it out afterwards anyway.”

“I hit you and call you names during sex, Iruka.” Kakashi said, voice tired.

“I asked for it. If you weren’t comfortable doing that, you should have told me!”

“We barely hang out with other people. Can’t you see that we’ve become codependent?”

At that, Iruka lowered the tissues and his nose began to bleed down his face. “I don’t remember you hanging out with too many people before. And that doesn’t matter anyway. I only need you. I understand if that’s not how you feel, but I couldn't care less about anyone else.”

Kakashi shook his head and brought a hand up to caress Iruka’s face, thumb smearing the blood that had dripped onto his plush lips. “Of course I feel the same way. This is the first real relationship I’ve ever had, and I’m just afraid of things going bad,” he admitted. “My brain keeps coming up with ways for why this shouldn’t work.”

Iruka hummed against Kakashi’s thumb and responded when he removed it from his lips. “Of course your genius brain would overthink things. Listen, I’ve been in enough bad relationships to know that this one is worth fighting for. And I intend to fight for it.”

Kakashi couldn’t tell if that was a promise or a threat, but regardless it made his heart speed up. They smiled at one another before Kakashi leaned in.

They shared a sweet kiss, staining their teeth with blood.

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

Kakashi gave Iruka’s body a perfunctory wipe down in the shower, then transferred him to the bathtub he had prepared with hot, scented water. As Iruka soaked, Kakashi sat outside of the tub and watched over him with a half-lidded eye.

Iruka had suggested multiple times that they invest in a larger bathtub to fit the both of them, but Kakashi didn’t think it was necessary. Things were perfect just the way they were.

When the water began to cool, he made a move to go get a towel and Iruka panicked, wet hands clutching at his shirt.

“Calm down, I’m not going anywhere,” Kakashi said in a soothing voice. He didn’t want the other to get all worked up again after his bath, so he allowed him to soak a little while longer.

“Izumo and Kotetsu invited me over for a game night,” Iruka casually brought up.

“Hmm. What did you tell them?”

“That I’d be over their apartment Friday night.”

Kakashi’s body stiffened with anger. They weren’t allowed to hang out with other people without first consulting one another. 

“A teacher who can’t follow his own rules? Are you sure you’re qualified?” He said, satisfied when that made the chunin bristle. 

“Don’t pretend to know anything about teachers. Last time I checked, you couldn’t even teach my students.” Iruka pretended to think. “Oh, I seemed to have forgotten. Please remind me where Sasuke is?”

That mouth, Kakashi internally swore. He pulled the chunin towards him by the neck, hearing his breath catch in his throat, and caught him in a rough kiss. When he pulled away, his voice was cold. “You piss me off. One of these days I'm going to smother you in your sleep.”

Iruka hummed in amusement. “Only if you killed yourself afterwards.” He kissed the scar over Kakashi’s closed eyelid. “So we could still be together.”

When Kakashi continued to pout, Iruka giggled. “Stop being so serious all of the time. Of course I told them I’d have to talk to you about it first.”

“Good boy,” Kakashi praised. “We’ll talk about it later. For now, let’s just get you out of here before you catch a cold.” 

Iruka nodded, and Kakashi left briefly to grab a towel. Once he returned, he wrapped the other in it and carried him off to bed — their bed.

They had officially moved in together two days ago, and Kakashi had never felt such a deep sense of contentment before. Of course they still argued and had days where they were consumed by their own insecurities. Be that as it may, Kakashi wouldn’t have it any other way. He couldn’t imagine him and Iruka ever having a typical, dull relationship.

They may not have been perfect according to even the loosest definition of the word, but they were perfect for each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~Naruto: *chases after Sasuke and obsesses over him in an unhealthy way*  
>  Iruka: *surprised Pikachu face*~~
> 
> Please ignore the fact that this chapter is more than 3x the length of the other two. There were a lot of things I wanted to address in this last chapter, and there wasn’t really a good place to stop in the middle…
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading! :) I wish you all a wonderful and safe holiday season!
> 
> * * *
> 
> TW: Physical Abuse. Iruka tries to prevent Kakashi from leaving for a mission, and in the struggle, Kakashi accidentally punches him and gives him a bloody nose.  
> TW. Suicidal Ideation. Iruka makes comments about how they should kill themselves if the other were to leave/die. None of these things happen in the story, though.
> 
> * * *
> 
> _Sweet dreams are made of this  
>  Who am I to disagree?  
> I travel the world and the seven seas  
> Everybody's looking for something_
> 
> _Some of them want to use you  
>  Some of them want to get used by you  
> Some of them want to abuse you  
> Some of them want to be abused_  
> —Eurythmics, “Sweet Dreams”


End file.
